Torn and Frayed Recap

For the purpose of this recap, please remember that Samandriel (his angel name) and Alfie (his human vessel's name) are the same character. Sometimes I call him Samandriel, sometimes Alfie, sometimes both.

We open with the "teen angel" Samandriel/Alfie tied to Crowley's torture chair. He has a stainless steel spike in his forehead. He concentrates hard and pushes the spike out with his mind (followed by a spurt of blood from his forehead). He tries to send a mental message to Naomi to tell her that Crowley has him.

The door opens and a man in white coat enters. He accuses him of having been on "angel radio". Alfie denies it. The man tells him not to lie to him...after all these weeks (apparently he's been torturing Alfie for some time). He pick up the stainless steel spike and says he'll have to turn off the "angel radio" signal again. Alfie protests as he shoves the pick into his forehead.

Kermit, Texas:

Sam sits drinking a beer. There's a knock at the door of his hotel room. It's Dean. Sam goes to close the door in his face but then lets him in instead. They start to argue. Sam says it must have been a long drive for Dean, to which Dean replies he wouldn't have had to make that drive if Sam hadn't hung up on him. Sam says he had heard all he needed to hear from Dean. Dean tells Sam that Sam heard what he WANTED to hear; that Dean had been right that the vampire deaths weren't Benny's fault. Sam asks, "What about Martin?". Dean defends Benny saying he killed Martin in self defense. Sam can't believe Dean thinks Benny is the victim here. Dean points out that being the innocent victim used to mean something. Sam asks Dean if he thinks this is just about Benny. Dean's confused...obviously he thinks they were only talking about Benny here.

Sam's mad that Dean made him think Amelia was in trouble...that Dean put him through the anguish of thinking yet another woman he loved might be dead in order to save a vampire.

Dean says he was wrong to do what he did to Sam, but Sam should have trusted him. Sam said Dean was asking him to trust Benny, not Dean, and Sam can't do that. Dean asks what they should do now. Sam says it depends...on Dean. Whether or not he's done with Benny. Dean says he doesn't know. Dean sarcastically says he's "glad he made the drive" and he leaves, angry.

Next we see a playground where a baby is crying in her mom's arms. Cas appears. Cas says the doctors must have missed something and he touches the baby who stops crying. Cas disappears leaving a happy but confused mother holding her baby. It appears that Cas it out, flying around and doing good deeds.

Next Cas is in Naomi's office. Naomi got Samandriel/Alfie's message that he's been captured. Cas thought he was already dead. Naomi says he's been missing and now they know Crowley has him, but they don't know where. Naomi tells Cas to find him and bring him home. She tells Cas it was HIS idea to rescue Samandriel...not her idea, not heaven's idea.

Next, we see Dean sleeping in the cabin. Cas shows up, watching him sleep, and Dean jerks awake, startled to see Cas standing there. Cas tells Dean that Alfie's is missing and Dean wonders how Cas knows...he thought Cas wasn't tuning in to the angels anymore (of course he wasn't; Naomi told him about Alfie, but Cas doesn't tell Dean that)...Cas says he thought he'd done enough penance so he turned his "angel radio" back on.

Cas tells Dean he's been helping people. Dean says "good for you". Cas needs Dean's help because he doesn't know Alfie's exact location. He only knows that he's somewhere in Nebraska.

Dean quickly closes his laptop and tells Cas he "saw nothing" when Cas sees the Busty Asian Beauties site on the screen over Dean's shoulder.

Dean starts trying to find reports of strange happenings in Nebraska...Cas says that when you torture an angel it creates ripples that cause strange things to happen. Cas asks where Sam is. Dean says he's gone and they'll find Alfie themselves.

Back in Texas, Sam is watching TV. There's a knock at the door. Sam thinks it might be Dean again, but it's Amelia who says she saw Sam looking in her window the night before. Amelia went to the bar (in the last episode) just to confirm it had been Sam she had seen outside her window. She says she ran out of the bar because her husband Don was going to be leaving; traveling for work and she needed to get back home before he had to leave. She asks why Sam is in Texas. He says he thought she was in trouble, but she's okay. She says she WAS okay and content until he showed up. Sam says he's not there to make trouble. She finishes his sentence, saying he's there because he cares.

She cares too. They kiss.

Back in the torture chamber, the torturer has Alfie in a metal halo screwed into his skull in order to keep the metal pick in so he can't communicate with heaven. He screws in a second pick and a glass beaker explodes as Alfie yells in pain. Alfie starts reciting something in Enochian.

A man in a suit is walking by outside and hears the Enochian coming from a bush, then the bush bursts into flame, blowing the man back...Alfie just created a weird occurrence for Dean and Cas to find.

The Impala rolls into Nebraska with Dean and Cas. They go to interview the burn victim who saw the burning bush. (I love it when Dean and Cas work together.) Cas asks what the bush said to the guy. He doesn't know; he doesn't speak the language. He asks for as much as he can remember.

Cas confirms it was Enochian for "obey". Dean says they need to look for demons; the demons will be guarding Crowley and Alfie.

Back in Texas...Sam and Amelia just slept together. Sam says it was great. And a mistake. Amelia agrees. Amelia says she doesn't want to hurt Don, but Sam is the first thing she thinks of in the morning and the last thing she thinks of at night. She's having a hard time letting that go, especially if he keeps showing up. She says that if he stays, she'd be with him against all she believes in. But if he leaves, he should never come back. She can't have him halfway. Not half in her life and half out doing whatever it is he does out there. Sam says she doesn't want to know what he's doing out there and that committing to each other would be a big step for both of them. He has to think about it. He says that words won't ever do justice to what she has meant and will always mean to him. They agree they should think about this. She says they'll meet up again in 2 days. If they both show up, they'll know. Or if neither of them are there, they'll know. If only one shows up, that one will know it's over.

They look incredibly sad (but Sam is shirtless and therefore, even though he's sad, he's easy to look at).

In Nebraska....Dean and Cas roll up to their 9th abandoned factory. Dean's ready to give up and go get some food, but Cas says the people around the place are demons; he can see their true faces. Cas says he'll go get Sam. Dean says no. If Sam wanted to be there, he'd be there. Dean says he has a better idea.

Next we see Kevin. He's on a boat, trying to decipher the tablet. Dean asks where Garth is (who is supposed to be protecting Kevin...this is ostensibly Garth's houseboat but it looks more like an abandoned fishing boat...but the boat is named "Fizzle's Folly"...a throwback to Garth's sock puppet Mr. Fizzels that he uses to talk to a little girl in "Party on Garth" ). Kevin says that Garth kind of comes and goes. Cas points out that Kevin looks horrible. Dean asks if he's having any luck with the tablet interpretation (he only has half a tablet). Kevin says he's got nothing. Dean says they need more demon TNT. Kevin says the ingredients are too hard to find, but Cas says he'll go get everything if Kevin gives him a list.

Back at the torture chamber, Crowley comes in. He asks what in the world the torturer needs, since he's given him every torture device known to man, short of a Neil Diamond album. The torturer says he has something he needs Crowley to translate. He loosens one of the screws in Alfie's head and Alfie starts reciting the Enochian again. Crowley says they've tapped into Alfie's "programming"...he's talking about how he was meant to be an angel of the Lord. Crowley says he wants to know what makes Alfie tick.

Back on the boat, Kevin seems bothered by Dean hanging around waiting for Cas to come back. Kevin puts on headphones so he can't hear Dean.

Dean's phone rings. It's Benny. He says he's so far underground he's breathing through a
straw. He says he didn't mean for what to happen to Martin to have happened that way. Benny asks if Dean is near the Catskills. Benny is having a hard time staying away from humans. Dean says he'll be there as soon as he's done in Nebraska. Benny thanks him. Dean's like Benny's AA sponsor!

Dean asks Kevin where his mom is. He says she's gone; she was too distracting. Kevin says this boat is his desert where he has to stay to learn the word of God. Kevin says there's nothing more important than what he's doing right now with the tablet.

In Texas, Sam is sitting on a bench and is startled when Cas appears next to him.

Cas is back on the boat with the ingredients they need for the demon TNT...and Sam. Dean's pissed that Cas brought Sam. Sam tells him not to worry, that as soon as they save Alfie, he's out. Cas says they need both of them and Cas says he needs them to stow their crap. Sam and Dean don't look convinced that they can.

It's nighttime. Sam and Dean and Cas drive up to Crowley's abandoned torture factory. Cas tells them they need to destroy the angel-proofing symbols so he can get in. Cas draws the symbols on Sam's hand that they need to find once they get in. Cas says that after he killed so many angels, he needs to save this one.

Cas gives Sam his angel blade and tells him it works on demons as well as angels.

Sam and Dean work as a team...one draws the demons out, the other kills them. They get inside the building. Dean goes one way, Sam goes the other as they find the symbols Cas drew on Sam's hand. They spray paint over them, rendering them ineffective.

Crowley continues experimenting on Alfie. He says the word of God is hard-wired into him and Alfie is reciting things from a tablet.

Sam and Dean continue spray painting over the anti-angel symbols as they search for all of them. Suddenly a demon grabs Sam. He frees himself and stabs him with Cas' blade. He's grabbed by another. This time Dean kills the demon, saving Sam. Sam thanks him and Dean blankly says, "you're welcome".

Dean and Sam hear Alfie screaming. Two demons come running at them. They light their demon TNT and the demons are blown to infinity. Crowley's torturer points out to Crowley that they are under attack. Crowley basically ignores him.

Sam & Dean cover the last symbol and Cas appears, but he doesn't look good. He says the sigils keep him from being at full power. Though he's weakened, Cas says there's no time to wait...Samandriel won't last much longer. Sam hands him back his angel blade and Cas covers his ears as Samandriel's screams seem to penetrate his head. Dean is trying to force the door open. Alfie's pain seems to be disabling Cas. He cowers in the corner.

Dean throws himself at the door trying to open it.

Cas is having PTSD-like flashbacks as he cowers on the floor. In his mind, he sees Naomi with what looks like a dental drill, about to drill into his eye.

Crowley knows that time is limited and he wants Alfie to tell him all there is to know. Crowley is astonished at what he hears from Alfie. Crowley's accomplice asks what it is....Crowley says, "there's an angel tablet".

Sam and Dean finally break in. Crowley is nowhere to be seen. Dean starts fighting with Crowley's torturer-demon as Sam tries to hold off another demon. Cas goes to Alfie and starts to remove the stainless steel picks. Cas continues to have visions of Naomi with a drill coming at him.

Cas frees Alfie from the torture device.

Dean kills one demon with Ruby's knife. Dean is about to kill the torturing demon, but he tells Dean to wait; the demon says he knows things. Dean tells Cas to go and Cas and Alfie disappear. The demon tells Dean there's so much he (Dean) doesn't know; that they need to keep him (the demon) alive for his knowledge. Dean says he thinks not and stabs the demon with Ruby's knife, killing him.

Outside, Cas has Alfie. He says he's taking him home. Alfie says no; he can't take him back. Alfie says he told Crowley things he shouldn't have...that Crowley got "to his coding" and he told him secrets he didn't even know he had; secrets about heaven and Naomi. Cas asks who Naomi is. Alfie says "they're controlling us".

Suddenly, Cas is in Naomi's office and he asks her what Alfie means when he says "they're controlling us". Naomi yells at Cas to kill Alfie. Cas asks who is controlling them and he asks Naomi why he saw her face in his flashbacks. Naomi tells him that killing Alfie is a direct order.

Cas is back next to Alfie. He pulls out his blade and kills him. As soon as he does, he looks confused. In the next instant, he's back in front of Naomi in her office and he asks what he just did. Naomi says he killed a traitor, but Cas disagrees and says that Samandriel was good. Cas says he was trying to atone by saving Samandriel, not by killing him. Naomi says that Samandriel revealed what any angel would die to protect; the contents of the angel tablet.

Cas is distraught that he killed an angel to save a tablet.

Naomi says that if the demon tablet can seal the demons in hell, then imagine what the angel tablet can do. Cas wonders what he'll tell Sam and Dean...how he'll explain to them how Alfie died. As Naomi tells him what to say to Sam and Dean, we see that that's what Cas tells them, word for word...that Alfie was compromised. That he came at Cas and that Cas killed him in self defense. That he must return Alfie's body to heaven.

As he tells this to Sam and Dean, a tear of blood rolls down his face. Dean asks if he's okay and he says his vessel must have been damaged in the fight when Alfie came at him (which, of course, he did not). He says he has to go and take Samandriel's remains to heaven.

In heaven, Naomi says she has to see just how far Crowley dug into Alfie.

Cas looks rather dazed as he disappears with Alfie's body. It's obvious that Sam and Dean think something is off here.

Back at the cabin, Sam is angel-proofing everything. Cas can't see or hear them talk. As soon as Sam finishes, Dean says, "what the hell"...he knew something had been off with Cas since purgatory and wonders why heaven would have him kill another angel. While they are trying to figure out what is going on with Cas, Dean realizes that Sam still has a dilemma to deal with....

Dean tells Sam he's got this situation under control and that Sam should get back to Amelia. Sam agrees but asks since when is Dean on the Amelia bandwagon? Dean says he's tired of all the fighting between them and maybe he's a bit jealous since he could never separate himself from the job the way Sam could. Maybe it's time for one of them to be happy.

Sam says Amelia makes him happy. She might be waiting for him and if she is, he'd be a lucky man. Sam doesn't see how he can leave though, with so much going on with the tablets....Dean says that no matter what Sam decides, he has to decide. He has to be 100% in or out because if he tries to straddle it, it will kill him. Sam agrees.

Sam says he's going to take a walk to clear his head.

Next we see Benny drinking from an IV bag of blood. He opens the cooler and he's down to his last one. His phone rings. It's Dean. Benny asks how close Dean is. Dean says he's sorry but he can't make it. Benny asks if he means now...or ever. Dean tells Benny this is it. The end of the line. Though he'll never forget all he did for him. They say goodbye. Benny thanks Dean for the ride. Dean says "Adios", perhaps with tears in his eyes. Benny is on his own.

At the cabin, Dean is watching TV. Actually, he's staring at the TV, but seems deep in though. He's alone.

in Texas, Amelia opens the hotel room door. She's alone. No Sam. She leaves looking extremely dejected.

At the cabin, Sam sits down next to Dean on the couch, bringing him food and a beer. Sam chose Dean. No words are said, but Dean understands. He gives Sam a small shake of his head as if to say, "you're crazy for choosing me".

They eat together in front of the TV in silence.